(February 24, 2015 at 9:32 pm)Beccs Wrote: The beginning of the Renaissance.
The Italian Renaissance or the Northern Renaissance?
(February 25, 2015 at 12:23 am)Jenny A Wrote: I like Becc's beginning of the Renaissance though that's hard to date. You could pin it to Erasmus I suppose. Other really important sea change dates occur to me: Newton's death or birth or perhaps publication of Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica; the publication date of Einstein's Theory of Relativity is another possible (I see Faith No More just beat me to this one); the dropping of the first atomic bomb; the inception of the internet.
[My bolding]
That would be a good one.
(February 25, 2015 at 12:42 am)Chuck Wrote: I think either 240BC or 1522AD deserve consideration as origin points of a calendar system.
240 BC is year of the first accurate measurement of earth's circumference. 1522 AD is the year of the first circumnavigation of the earth.
I also think 1492 AD is much more significant to human history than merely marking the vastly important discovery and colonization of America. It mark something even more portentous - the beginning of globalization of human civilization and that makes it for me the true beginning of the modern era.
I would think the discovery of the Americas is a more impactful moment in history than taking a measurement or circumnavigation; Discovering that there was an entire continent, let alone two entire continents, between Europe and Asia and that those continents were both already teaming with people was a monumental discovery.
It fundamentally changed the world in terms of exploration, economics, trade, colonization, world health, international relations, environmental impacts, exploitation of natural resources...
(February 25, 2015 at 10:32 am)Brian37 Wrote: RationalPoet.......I really would only change the BC/AD crap considering that the Christian calender has pagan roots. BCE and CE are fine with me. Even if we could not the exact day the planet became a planet it would be a bitch to not that on a check in terms of billions of years.
4,000,002,015 would look stupid on a check.
"I'm sorry, I can't accept this check; you put too many zeros in the date." :p
Also, wouldn't the date be closer to 4,500,002,015? You're just going to carelessly leave out about half a billion years of Earth history?!? :p
(February 25, 2015 at 10:33 am)Chuck Wrote:(February 25, 2015 at 8:19 am)jesus_wept Wrote: I think I'd like to start it on the year of Galileo's birth, to mark the beginning of mankind realising they.not the centre of the universe and the triumph of science, evidence and reason over superstition.
Shouldn't that be credited to Copernicus? The displacement of earth from the center is commonly called the Copernican revolution, after all.
Why would you start the calendar year in the year Galileo/Copernicus was born? Why not the year they made their respective discoveries?
Teenaged X-Files obsession + Bermuda Triangle episode + Self-led school research project = Atheist.
